Noise

The Council has powers to deal with certain types of noise. In order for us to take action, the noise must class as a statutory nuisance.

Statutory nuisance is more than just annoyance and will have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of anyone affected. Some people may find a noise annoying, but it might not be a statutory nuisance in the eyes of the law.

Factors considered when assessing statutory nuisance include:

Duration and frequency of the noise

Reasonableness

Time of day

Type of area

Report a noise nuisance

It is often better to try to resolve problems by speaking to the person who is causing the noise disturbance, if this is possible without putting your safety at risk. The introduction of a third party such as the Council may inflame the situation rather than resolve it.

If you feel you are unable to approach the person causing the problem you could use mediation to try to resolve the issue. The West Surrey Mediation Service is a free, impartial and confidential service, which helps neighbours to resolve conflicts.